State v. Stiles
| Decision Date | 31 August 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 82-114,82-114 |
| Citation | 465 A.2d 908,123 N.H. 680 |
| Parties | The STATE of New Hampshire v. Edward P. STILES. |
| Court | New Hampshire Supreme Court |
Gregory H. Smith, Atty. Gen. (Peter W. Mosseau, Asst. Atty. Gen., on the brief, and Michael A. Pignatelli, Asst. Atty. Gen., orally), for the State.
Joanne S. Green, Asst. Appellate Defender, Concord, by brief and orally, for defendant.
The defendant, Edward P. Stiles, appeals his convictions of two counts of theft by unauthorized taking and one count of attempted theft. See RSA 637:3; RSA 629:1.
The charges against the defendant stemmed from events occurring on January 5, 6, and 7, 1981. The evidence introduced at trial tended to establish the following.
On January 5, 1981, the defendant, a cab driver, presented a teller at the Concord Savings Bank with a certificate of deposit passbook which belonged to Frances George. The defendant stated he wished to withdraw money from "his mother's" account. The teller informed the defendant that "his mother" should complete a withdrawal slip, or accompany him to the bank. Later that day, the defendant returned with Mrs. George, an eighty-one-year-old widow. The defendant told the teller that Mrs. George needed $500 in cash in order to pay a bill. The teller gave the defendant $500. At trial, the teller testified that Mrs. George appeared to be confused and said very little during this transaction.
The following day, the defendant and Mrs. George went to a different branch of the Concord Savings Bank. The defendant indicated that Mrs. George wished to withdraw $2,500 so that she could move "some place where it was warmer." The teller gave the defendant $2,500 in cash. The teller at this branch testified that Mrs. George appeared to be confused.
Finally, on January 7, 1981, the defendant and Mrs. George went to a third branch of the Concord Savings Bank. The defendant stated that Mrs. George wished to withdraw $3,000 in cash "to put it in an Arizona bank." A bank vice-president, concerned about the series of large cash withdrawals, took Mrs. George aside and asked her why she needed $3,000. She stated that she did not need the money. When questioned, the defendant denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of the cash previously withdrawn. The bank vice-president refused to give the defendant the $3,000 requested and demanded the return of the cash previously withdrawn. The defendant later returned with $1,880 which he said he found under the front seat of his cab.
The defendant was charged with two counts of theft by unauthorized taking and with attempted theft. Prior to trial, counsel for the defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment for theft by unauthorized taking dealing with the defendant's conduct on January 6, 1981, on the ground that it was insufficient. The Superior Court (Dunfey, C.J.) denied this motion. Counsel for the defendant also filed a motion to dismiss all three counts, contending that the defendant was incompetent to stand trial. After a hearing on this motion, the Superior Court (Temple, J.) also denied this motion.
During a trial in Superior Court (DiClerico, J.), Mrs. George's conservator, Attorney Michael Ruedig, testified over the defendant's objection, that he had not given the defendant authority to withdraw money from Mrs. George's account. He also identified Mrs. George who was present in the courtroom. The defendant objected to Mrs. George's presence at the trial and the identification of her, because she had been found by the court to be incompetent to testify. A jury returned a verdict of guilty on all three counts, and the defendant appealed. He raises four issues on appeal. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
The defendant contends that the indictment for theft by unauthorized taking dealing with the defendant's conduct on January 6, 1981, is constitutionally insufficient because it does not contain enough facts to warn the defendant of the specific charges against him. The indictment at issue provided that:
"Edward Stiles ... on the sixth day of January [1981] at Concord in the County of Merrimack, with force and arms, did purposely exercise unauthorized control over $2,500.00 in United States currency, the property of Frances George with a purpose to deprive her thereof without authority of said Frances George to do so...."
An indictment is constitutionally sufficient if it gives the defendant enough information about the nature and cause of the accusation to allow the defendant to prepare for trial. State v. Shute, 122 N.H. 498, 504, 446 A.2d 1162, 1165-66 (1982). The indictment must include all of the elements which constitute the offense charged. Id., 446 A.2d at 1166. The indictment at issue specified all of the statutory elements of theft by unauthorized taking. The indictment did not describe the location or the means used by the defendant to gain unauthorized control over Mrs. George's property. Therefore, the factual information contained in the indictment, including the date and place of the offense, the name of the victim, and the amount and type of property involved, was constitutionally insufficient to inform the defendant of the factual basis of the charge. State v. Shute, id., 446 A.2d at 1166; State v. Bussiere, 118 N.H. 659, 661, 392 A.2d 151, 153 (1978). The motion to dismiss this indictment should have been granted.
The defendant's second argument is that the trial court erred in permitting Mrs. George's conservator, Attorney Ruedig, to testify that he did not authorize the defendant to withdraw money from Mrs. George's account. Defendant contends that this testimony was irrelevant and immaterial because the indictment charged that the defendant exercised unauthorized control over Mrs. George's property "without authority of said Frances George to do so." (Emphasis added.)
"Evidence is relevant if it tends in any way to establish a proposition which is of consequence in an action." State v. Dustin, 122 N.H. 544, 546-47, 446 A.2d 1186, 1188 (1982). In admitting this evidence, the court explained that, because the jury would be informed of the conservatorship, it was necessary to admit evidence ...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Shannon
...495, 431 A.2d 775, 778 (1981), and it "must include all of the elements which constitute the offense charged." State v. Stiles, 123 N.H. 680, 683, 465 A.2d 908, 910 (1983). Accordingly, an analysis of the sufficiency of an indictment must begin with an examination of the statutory language ......
-
State v. Bertrand
...of the proceedings against him." Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 789, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960); State v. Stiles, 123 N.H. 680, ---, 465 A.2d 908, 911 (decided this date); see Roy v. Perrin, 122 N.H. 88, 94, 441 A.2d 1151, 1155 (1982). "To protect this guarantee a defend......
-
State v. Brooks, 84-307
...this proposed evidence was not relevant to any factual matter in dispute, and accordingly refused its admission. State v. Stiles, 123 N.H. 680, 683, 465 A.2d 908, 910 (1983); State v. Leuthner, 124 N.H. 638, 641, 474 A.2d 1029, 1030 (1984). Since the testimony proposed was extrinsic evidenc......
-
State v. Maguire, 86-191
...as the place of the crime, without specifically stating that the event occurred at the Casbah. The defendant relies on State v. Stiles, 123 N.H. 680, 465 A.2d 908 (1983). That case mandates that the indictment for theft by unauthorized taking "describe the location or the means used by the ......